Gluten Free Thankfulness and a Cranberry-Mango Chutney

Every year about this time of year, I work with my students on different things that allow me to incorporate the idea of Thankfulness. Considering the quickly approaching holiday, there is often a thought of turkey with a side of mashed potatoes (or mashed potatoes with a side of turkey, as in my dreams) floating through the minds of my students when I ask them what they are thankful for.

I usually begin by eliciting the everyday things for which they are thankful. I tell them that I have always held warm, toasty socks in high regard – especially in the winter months. Nothing makes me more thankful on a cold, wet day than slipping on some fresh, clean and warm socks when I get home from work. Socks are high on my daily thankfulness list. And after sharing this idea with them, it’s great to hear the things they are thankful for as well. Most kids tell me that they hadn’t thought about thankfulness in such a way before. Every year. And most years, I have students come back at this time of year to tell me what is NEW to their thankfulness lists. Things like college scholarships, parent’s/family health/well-being, safe journeys, etc are added to the list and usually a nice pair of warm socks is somewhere on that list too.

This year My love and I will soon be celebrating our 8th anniversary. We were married over a Thanksgiving weekend. With our lives in the midst of big changes(the nursery is ready to go!); I am feeling more reflective and thankful than ever. So much so, I went public. (No, not just on this blog.) I wanted to take a moment to share my one public item on my thankfulness this year (beyond the socks…which will always be there) in hopes of inspiring a few moments of thankfulness or thoughtfulness as well.

This year I am thankful to two individuals whom I’m never met.

Their names are Richard and Mildred Loving. In 1958, Mildred and Richard were married. One night the police broke down the door of their home and broke in to their bedroom. Mildred and Richard pointed to the marriage license on the wall of their bedroom when the police question the legitimacy of their cohabitation. You see, Mildred was an African-American woman and her love, Richard, was a white man. Interracial Marriage was banned when they were married and with the “proof” of their “illegal action” hanging on the wall, both Mildred and Richard were hauled off to jail.

Richard and Mildred both spent time in jail and eventually had to plead guilty. The judge sentenced them to time in jail – suspended only if they vowed to never return to their home state again. Richard and Mildred moved out of state – away from their family, family homes, jobs, friends and all that they had known – in order to stay together.

A few years later, Richard and Mildred attempted to have their case overturned. As citizens of the United States, they both were entitled to equal treatment under our constitution which included Amendment 14 (granting citizen rights and prohibiting states from enacting laws that limit said rights). They both also asserted their right to the pursuit of happiness. And what makes you happier than your life partner, they attested.

This happened two years before I was born. I never knew that the power of love between two people could alter the future for all.

So, why am I thankful for Richard and Mildred Loving? Without them or their courage, I would not have had the right to marry my love. Our baby would be no closer to being in my arms and my life would nothing like what it is today. I cannot imagine my life without my Love. He is, and will always be, the most wonderful, gentle soul that I am privileged to know and love. I am thankful to Richard and Mildred for allowing me the opportunity to love who I chose.

Ah, the power of people. If it were not for those who had gone before us, where would we all be?In light of recent events, I believe a few more Lovings could do our nation some good. Don’t you?

So… what are you thankful for this year?

………………………………………….

And… Are you planning your Thanksgiving meal?

We have a few ideas on the burner for ours. It will just be the two of us this year, so we are having fun playing around with what our “last Thanksgiving as a family of two (or three, really as we have a very beloved pup in our lives too).

Since there are only two of us, there is no need for hours of cooking. BUT, I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to my Turkey Day. I really LOVE having a bit of cranberry relish or chutney or salsa to freshen up and liven up the meal. And this year will be no different.

This recipe will take hardly any time at all to put together. Once you have the ingredients prepped, you are practically done. Trust me. I had it poured into small canning jars (to share with some friends at work) within about 15 minutes of starting.

And this cranberry dressing? OH, it certainly beats the ubiquitous can of jellied “cranberry dressing” that I remember my mom opening every November. She claimed that since no one ate it, it wasn’t worth making. Quite honestly, I’m sure no one ate it because it still held the shape of the can while it sat on the plate. NOT appetizing at all!

this sounds great! Can you tell me about how many jars this recipe will make? thanks!

Sarah –
The amount will vary slightly (depending on the size/flesh of your mangos). For me, this recipe filled one quart jar and three small jam jars (about 1/2 – 2/3 cup per jar) in each. I gave the smaller jars away to buddies at work for taste testing and congratulations on a new grandbaby.
I hope this helps!
Kate

I have to admit I am living viacariously through you. I have for many years wanted to adopt a child from China. I am so happy for you and cried happy tears for you when you finally found out she was coming. My love and I have been together for seven years but because of financial reasons we cannot be married and only get to spend a few hours a week together. The most thing I am thankful for is someone who loves me and someone I love who understands me and shares my strange sense of humor. How many people can not only love Shakespeare and Larry the Cable Guy. Yes I agree with you warm soft socks make winter almost a pleasurable thing. I am thankful for my mother who worked for a hosiery mill all during my childhood and always brought us home bags of seconds. It instilled a lifelong love of socks. Blessed be and much joy in your life. Tonya

So well put…I hope that someday we look back on our current marriage debates and think, “Wow, there was actually a time in history when people were told who they could and could not marry??”
I am definitely thankful for my love and for the health of my family.

What an absolutely lovely story, Kate. Things like that warm my heart. I remember this past valentines day, I had a similar experience: I was walking down the streets of New York, happy because my boyfriend was flying into the city that evening, when I was approached by a canvasser for the Human Rights Campaign. He asked if I’d consider becoming a member – and usually I don’t sign up for anything on the street – but then I thought about how wonderful it was to be with a person I loved, how everyone should have that right, and I signed up on the spot.

I’m thankful for moments like that. Moments where you feel truly connected to other people, do good deeds, and feel all kind of love. Gosh that’s mushy.

I support love in all colors, all beliefs, all lifestyles. I love the resulting blended colors, beliefs and lifestles. The baby steps of my parents’ generation have become full strides in my lifetime. I’m glad my generation is continuing the forward progress.

Tonya, I also have a lifelong love of socks and fine pajamas. My aunt worked at RealSilk, which made both. Seconds? No problem!

Your relish sounds great and I love your post on the Lovings. I’m not from the States so I didn’t know that inter-racial marriage was illegal in some States until so recently. I’m also pretty grateful to those two as I also wouldn’t have been able to marry my boy either. Thanks for the great post!

Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how quickly things changed in the 60s and 70s actually when my own parents were in their teens and twenties.
To me it just seems so weird to have laws like that and I’m always curious to know how much things have changed in the average person’s view.
I’m actually curious to know how your relationship is viewed? As I might be moving out to the States if I marry my guy I am sort of wondering if some parts of the country are worse than others… he’s coming to my country this week actually and I’m going to see how we get treated here. I think most people will just be fascinated as he’s very tall and a big build as well as being dark, and I sort of glow in the dark I’m so pale…

i echo your post and one of your commenters. yes, i really hope that my infant son will be *amazed* that it took until during his lifetime for any two adults to be legally married in the United States.